* 

SBYTERIAN  Work 
for  the  Indian  Race 
in  the  United  States. 


By 

THOMAS  Clinton  Moffett 


The  Board  of  Home  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
H J in  the  U.  S.  A.,  156  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York 

I j I i ^ 

SMBiBlilfiili!^^ 


THE  WORK  OF  THE  PRESBYTERIAN 
CHURCH  FOR  THE  INDIAN  RACE 
IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


By 

Thomas  Clinton  Moffett 


Superintendent  of  Department 
of  Indian  Missions 


The  Literature  Department  of 
THE  BOARD  OF  HOME  MISSIONS  OF  THE  PRESBYTERIAN 
CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 
156  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York 


CONTENTS 


Page 

The  Indian  Department 5 

The  Working  Force 6 

A Noble  Race 6 

Present  Indian  Conditions 7 

The  Scope  of  the  Work 7-8 

Progress  and  Promise 8 

Evangelistic  Labors 9 

Departmental  Service 9-10 

Support  of  Special  Objects 10 

The  Fields 10-14 

Missions  Schools  and  Field  Matrons 15 

Bible  Training,  and  Indians  in  Preparation 15-16 

Annual  Conventions  and  Indian  Exhibits 16-17 

Interdenominational  Relations 17-18 

Government  Schools  and  a Great  Opportunity 19 

Neglected  Thousands 20 

Present  Needs  and  a Program  of  Action 23-24 


2 


The  Beginning  of  Indian  Missions 


From  an  old  engraving 


JOHN  ELIOT.  THE  FIRST  MISSIONARY  AMONG  THE 
INDIANS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS 


CATTARAUGUS,  N Y.,  MANSE 


THE  DIVERSITY 
OF  THE  TASK 

FROM  THE  TROPICS 
OF  THE  PIMAS 
TO  THE  SNOWY 
NORTH  OF 
THE  SENECAS 


SACATON,  ARIZ.,  CHAPEL 


THE  CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  THE 
NATIVE  AMERICAN  RACE 


The  Task  of  the  Church 

The  Presbyterian  Church  is  busy  with  a God-appointed  task. 
It  is  trying  to  deal  in  a practical,  earnest,  systematic  way  with  the  con- 
version to  Christianity  and  the  nurture  in  the  faith  of  A RACE.  The 
Redman  is  not  vanishing,  but  steadily  increasing  in  numbers.  His 
destiny  and  place  incur  civilization  are  to  be  early  determined. 

Never  before  have  Indian  missions  demanded  so  much  effort  or 
promised  such  large  results.  When  a missionary  who  had  given 
twenty  years  of  constant  service  on  the  Indian  fields  was  asked — 
" Do  you  believe  missionary  effort  for  the  Indian  pays?”  He  answered 
thoughtfully  and  with  conviction  “I  believe  nothing  pays  better.” 
To  justify  such  an  estimate  the  following  pages  on  Presbyterian  ser- 
vice for  this  race  are  suggestive. 

The  American  Indian  w’ork  of  the  Board  was  organized  as  a distinct 
department  in  November,  1908,  by  authority  of  the  General  Assembly 
given  the  preceding  May. 

Presbyterian  missions  to  the  Indians  date  back  to  the  labors  of  John  Sargeant, 
Jonathan  Edwards  and  David  Brainerd  for  the  Mohicans,  and  Azariah  Horton 
to  the  tribes  on  Long  Island.  The  first  contributions  by  the  General  Assembly 
to  Indian  Missions  were  made  in  1806.  Through  the  long  line  of  self-sacrificing 
missionaries  for  a century  and  a half,  there  is  traced  the  story  of  the  labors  of 
Gideon  Blackburn  for  the  Cherokees.  Peter  Dougherty  among  the  Chippewas, 
Alfred  Wright  for  the  Choctaws.  Drs.  Riggs  and  Williamson  for  the  Sioux,  Marcus 
Whitman  and  H.  H.  Spaulding  for  the  Umatilla  and  Nez  Perces.  to  the  present- 
day  company  of  devoted  men  and  women  in  missions  and  schools. 


5 


The  Working  Force 


The  work  is  in  twenty  States,  among  fifty-seven  tribal  divisions 
whose  members  speak  almost  as  many  Indian  languages.  It  requires 
a strong  force  of  workers,  for  our  denomination  is  in  the  vanguard  of 
the  denominational  forces.  The  record  to  January,  1913,  is  as  follows: 


Missionaries,  helpers  and  interpreters,  under  appointment  of  the  Board 134 

Additional  workers  required  for  vacant  fields 6 

Pastors  and  helpers,  supported  b}'  Indian  churches  and  native  Missionary 

Societies 18 

Indian  school  employees  and  field  matrons  of  the  Woman’s  Board 53 

Total  of  Presbyterian  missionaries  for  Indian  work 211 


Is  He  “The  Noble  Redman”? 

The  native  American  race  has  been  called  the  highest  type  of  pagan 
and  uncivilized  man  that  the  world  has  known.  Not  only  in  physi- 
cal endowment  but  in  mental  equipment,  the  Indian  takes  high  rank. 
He  commands  respect  and  admiration  not  the  less  for  his  sturdy  inde- 
pendence, his  struggle  for  existence  in  hunt  and  war,  than  by  his 
record  of  stolid  endurance  in  privation  and  suffering,  and  the  strength 
and  freedom  of  his  life.  An  undeveloped  race,  an  untutored  savage, 
the  American  Indian  yet  received  the  striking  tribute  of  the  designa- 
tion, “The  Noble  Redman.” 

The  Wrongs  and  Rights  of  the  Indian 

The  story  of  his  wrongs,  like  the  romance  of  his  life,  and  the  history  of  Indian 
tribal  warfare,  is  thrilling.  Strangely  contrasted  are  the  records  of  this  people, 
the  aggressors  and  the  aggrieved — infamous  for  barbarous  cruelties  and  treachery, 
famous  for  heroic  endurance  of  abuse  and  for  fidelity  to  treaty  pact— ranging 
from  the  bloodthirsty  Apache  and  Cayuse,  with  the  scalp  knife,  to  the  peaceful 
Pimas,  who  can  boast  that  they  never  shed  white  man's  blood,  and  to  the  friend- 
ly Nez  Perces.  But  no  wrong  done  Indians  of  this  land  is  greater  than  our  leaving 
so  many  of  them  to  this  day  in  the  darkness  of  heathenism  and  superstition. 
Thousands  with  a mild  surprise  still  reply,  when  the  Christian  herald  comes  to 
them:  “Nobody  ever  told  us  that  story  before.”  Six  thousand  children  of  the 
most  neglected  tribe  are  without  church  or  school  at  this  hour. 


6 


The  opportunity  to  hear  the  gospel  and  to  accept  its  offer  might  be 
fitly  called  in  this  age  one  of  the  “inalienable  rights”  of  men.  We  are 
not  offering  this  right  to  thousands  of  Indians.  No  plea  for  missions 
in  America  sounds  louder  today.  These  are  the  native  Americans. 
We  dispossessed  them  of  lands  and  much  of  their  life’s  freedom  and  joy. 
We  have  owed  it  to  them  to  give  them  a better  possession,  a higher  life. 
This  obligation  has  been  generously  fulfilled  in  part.  It  has  been 
strangely  neglected  in  other  part.  A business  man  of  New  York  City, 
who  sends  his  check  monthly  to  the  Board  for  support  of  a missionary 
to  the  Navajos,  remarked:  “ I felt  that  I would  like  to  help  to  people 
Heaven.  ” 


Present  Indian  Conditions 

The  Indians  are  not  a decadent  or  vanishing  race,  but  are  in  a transi- 
itional  period  and  a stage  of  readaptation  to  changed  conditions  which 
create  serious  problems  involving  their  preservation  and  welfare.  The 
best  evidence  indicates  that  for  several  decades  the  American  red  men 
have  been  slightly  increasing  in  numbers,  and  today  the  race  is  more 
than  holding  its  own.  Admixture  with  the  white  race,  wide  scattering 
of  the  population,  and  the  rapid  breaking  up  of  tribal  and  reservation 
life  disguise  this  fact  of  an  increase. 

But  the  new  Governmental  policies  of  abolishing  Indian  agencies, 
alloting  land  in  severalty,  removing  restrictions  on  allotted  lands  to  a 
considerable  extent,  and  breaking  up  tribal  relations  and  heathen  cus- 
toms, are  making  a new  epoch  for  this  race,  and  requiring  readjust- 
ments, to  which  the  slow-moving  redmen  painfully  adapt  themselves. 


The  Scope  of  the  Work 

The  following  statistics  show  the  exact  status  of  Presbyterian  Indian 
mission  work  as  reported  in  January,  1913. 


7 


Oritanized  Churchea 

Additional  Stations  where  Services  are  held 

Ordained  Ministers White 45 

Native 39 

Unordained  Helpers,  Interpreters  and  Other 

Employees White 20 

Native 58 - 78 

Communicant  Christians  in  Indian  Churches — 

Native 7,202 

Mixed. 575 7,777 

Total  Estimated  Adherents 

(Including  Communicants  as  given  above) 

Indian  Sunday  Schools  Under  Presbyterian  Direction 

Sunday  School  Enrollment Native 6,478 

Mixed 605 


Mission  Schools 11 

Pupils  in  Indian  Schools 473 


(The  above  figures  are  for  the  United  States  exclusive  of  Alaska.  1,500 
native  Alaskans  are  Presbyterian  adherents.  Our  total  constituency 
among  the  native  American  race  is  therefore  over  20,000.) 


18,608 

127 

. 7,083 


116 

118 

84 


Progress  and  Promise 

The  continued  advance  from  year  to  year  is  encouraging,  and  the 
testimony  has  recently  been  borne  by  a Government  agent,  located 
among  our  Presbyterian  Nez  Perce,  of  Idaho,  that  there  is  probably  not 
to  be  found  a more  religious  people  in  the  world,  more  devout  and  at- 
tentive to  the  obligations  of  their  faith  than  these  Christian  Indians. 
The  remarkable  transformation  of  the  largest  tribe  of  Indians  in  Amer- 
ica is  graphically  described  in  the  words  of  Dr.  John  P.  Williamson  in 
a recent  report  regarding  these  people  among  whom  he  has  spent  his 
whole  life.  The  effect  of  the  whole  Indian  mission  undertaking  is  re- 
vealed in  these  lines: 


8 


“The  first  generation  of  converts  was  sorely  tempted  to  return  to  ancestra 
idolatry,  and  a considerable  per  cent,  of  baptized  children  bred  back  to  paganism. 
Fifty  years  ago.  when  I received  my  appointment  as  missionary  to  the  Dakota 
Indians,  there  were  only  about  a score  of  Christian  families  in  the  whole  nation. 
Notwithstanding  the  inherited  impress  of  paganism  on  their  hearts.  God  has  shown 
his  power  and  mercy  in  calling  eight  of  their  descendants  into  the  ministry,  out 
of  twenty-one  Dakotas  who  have  been  ordained  in  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
And  looking  at  the  church  members  we  find  that  about  50  per  cent,  of  the  com- 
municants in  our  churches  are  Christians  of  the  third  and  fourth  generation. 

So  the  power  of  paganism  is  fast  waning.  If  the  twenty-five  thousand  Dakotas 
were  all  questioned  as  to  whether  they  were  Christians  or  pagans,  in  my  opinion 
four-fifths  would  reply  that  they  were  Christians,  although  not  that  proportion 
have  been  baptized. " 

Chapels  and  manses  are  being  erected  and  the  putting  of  old  mission 
buildings  in  more  creditable  and  attractive  condition  is  constantly  kept 
in  view.  The  Board  of  Church  Erection  co-operates  largely  in  making 
grants  for  these  purposes,  as  they  are  recommended  by  the  Presbyter- 
ial  Committees. 


Evangelistic  Labors 

Rev.  John  N.  Steele,  of  Syracuse,  New  York,  is  the  Presbyterian 
evangelist-at-large  for  the  Indian  work  under  the  Board.  He  spends  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  year  in  traveling  from  reservation  to  reser- 
vation, cooperating  with  the  regular  pastors  and  missionaries  in  pro- 
claiming the  good  news  of  the  Gospel  to  the  red  men.  He  also  takes 
part  in  camp-meetings  and  Bible  institutes,  where  the  Word  is  prayer- 
fully studied  and  native  workers  are  fitted  for  more  effective  leader- 
ship. Sane  in  his  methods,  winning  and  kindly  in  his  personality  and 
his  presentation  of  the  truth  to  the  Indian  congregations,  he  is'privi- 
leged  to  bring  the  glad  tidings  to  many  native  Americans  who  hear  the 
message  from  his  lips  for  the  first  time. 

Departmental  Service 

The  Department  of  Indian  Missions  occupies  separate  offices  in  con 
nection  with  the  Board  of  Home  Missions,  at  156  Fifth  Avenue,  New 


9 


York.  The  Superintendent’s  time  is  taken  up  with  executive  plans 
and  conferences,  public  addresses  and  the  correspondence  entailed  by 
letters  and  requests  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  In  addition  to  this 
a number  of  months  are  annually  spent  in  visiting  the  widely  scattered 
and  often  remote  places  on  the  mission  fields  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific  and  from  the  Canadian  to  the  Mexican  border.  By  this  field 
service  the  missionaries  are  kept  in  touch  with  the  Board  and  their 
trials  and  needs  more  fully  understood.  There  are  always  more 
opportunities  for  inspirational,  educational  and  publicity  work  than 
can  be  fully  met.  The  offices  are  a clearing-house  for  literature  and 
information  on  Indian  subjects. 

Support  of  Special  Objects 

The  partial  or  entire  support  of  specific  workers  or  fields  by  churches, 
societies  or  individuals  is  encouraged,  and  about  $10,000  is  annually 
contributed  in  such  special  gifts.  This  form  of  benevolence  brings  the 
giver  into  closer  touch  with  the  object  than  could  otherwise  be  the  case 
and  results  in  deep  and  continued  interest. 

The  Fields 

The  Indian  fields  have  been  arranged  in  five  divisions  for  admini- 
strative purposes,  and  the  progress  and  present  conditions  of  the  work 
are  reported  in  these  groupings; 

Division  I.  The  Far  Northwest 

{Including  Northern  California,  Oregon,  Washington,  Idaho, 
Utah,  and  Wyoming) 

The  neglected  Indians  of  northern  California,  numbering  about  ten 
thousand,  have  been  without  ministerial  care  and  the  preaching  of  the 
Word  through  many  years.  The  devoted  labors  of  three  field  matrons. 


10 


maintained  by  the  Woman’s  Board  at  Hoopa,  North  Fork  and  Fall 
River,  have  opened  for  our  denomination  the  door  of  large  opportunity. 
And  now  three  ordained  ministers  have  been  secured  in  response  to  the 
application  of  the  presbyteries  for  help  from  the  Board.  The  interest 
and  prayers  of  the  Church  at  large  are  particularly  asked  for  this  work 
now  established  with  ordained  ministers  in  charge. 

The  Church  of  Chico,  under  the  fostering  care  of  Mrs.  John  Bidwell, 
prospers  and  is  to  receive  generous  provision  for  its  future  needs  from 
its  devoted  benefactress.  Provision  for  the  training  of  native  helpers 
and  evangelists  will  be  made  in  thfe  educational  institution  at  Guinda, 
the  plans  for  which  are  now  being  consummated  by  the  Northern 
California  Indian  Association. 

The  fields  in  Oregon  and  Washington,  among  the  Umatilla,  Spokane 
and  Puyallup  Indians,  report  a good  year,  and  some  itinerating  has 
been  done  by  the  missionaries  to  reach  unevangelized  neighboring 
tribes.  The  Nez  Perce  have  the  banner  record  in  this  spirit  of  evangel- 
ization and  zeal  for  the  Gospel,  and  another  year  marks  progress 
under  the  labors  of  the  Rev.  James  Hayes,  the  Rev.  Mark  Arthur 
and  the  company  of  “theologues”  from  Miss  McBeth’s  school  of  the 
prophets. 


Division  II.  The  Middle  Northwest 


{Including  the  Dakotas,  Montana,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota  and 
Nebraska) 

The  Dakotas,  or  Sioux,  comprise  the  largest  of  all  the  American  In- 
dian tribes,  the  Presbyterian  church  has  its  largest  Indian  work  among 
them.  Thirty-four  organized  churches  constitute  this  Indian  presby- 
tery, the  two  youngest  of  these  churches  among  the  western-most  of 
these  Plains.  Indians  in  Montana,  are  supported  by  missionary  effort 
on  the  part  of  the  Indians  themselves.  Thus  thar  ihpliviny 

faith  grips  the  hearts  of  men  and  leads^tljuMrtTj^o^^^c^ 

11  / - 


i i 


fields.  Dr.  John  P.  Williamson  has  labored  among  these  people  of  the 
plains  for  more  than  fifty  years  while  Rev.  D.  E.  Evans  and  Rev.  A. 
Fulton  Johnson,  the  district  missionaries,  render  devoted  and  arduous 
service  in  their  broad  fields. 

The  Omaha  tribe,  in  Nebraska,  is,  in  a special  sense,  a Presbyterian 
responsibility  and  opportunity.  No  other  denomination  is  laboring 
among  the  Omahas.  The  Indian  hospital,  at  Walthill,  Nebraska,  with 
Dr.  Susanne  LaFleche  Picotte,  herself  an  Omaha  Indian, as  the  physi- 
cian-in-charge, is  a well-equipped  institution  errected  in  1912  by  the 
Board. 


Division  III.  Oklahoma  and  Kansas 

The  Five  Civilized  Tribes  have  been  largely  evangelized  and  brought 
into  relations  with  the  Church  by  three  denominations,  the  Baptist, 
Methodist  and  Presbyterian.  Paganism  is  still  dominant  only  in  some 
of  the  full-blooded  communities,  and  where  the  Indians  have  resisted 
the  white  man’s  approach  and  the  new  order  of  affairs  in  what  was  erst- 
while the  Indian  Territory.  Our  Presbyterian  missions  and  schools 
among  the  Cherokees,  the  Choctaws  and  Chickasaws,  and  the  Semi- 
nole and  Creek  nations  have  been  influential.  Many  of  the  converts 
have  mingled  with  the  white  communities,  and  there  is  an  Indian  ele- 
ment in  a large  number  of  the  congregations  in  towns  and  villages  of 
the  new  State.  District  missionaries  have  the  oversight  of  the  work  in 
the  several  tribes,  and  twenty-five  organized  churches  among  the 
Choctaws  are  included  in  a separate  Indian  presbytery,  the  only  other 
presbytery  confined  to  Indians  being  that  of  the  Dakotas. 

The  Kickapoo  and  Iowa  reservations  in  Kansas  are  provided  with 
an  ordained  missionary  and  a field  matron.  The  work  is  difficult,  as 
drunkenness  and  low  moral  conditions  prevail.  It  appears  easier  and 
more  promising  to  labor  for  the  reservation  Indians  who  are  in  a prim- 
itive condition  than  for  those  who  have  had  the  surroundings  of  white 
civilization,  where  the  liquor  traffic  and  demoralizing  influences  have 
been  but  slightly  restrained. 


12 


Division  IV.  The  Southwest 


{Including  Colorado,  New  Alexico,  Arizona  and  Southern 
California) 

The  largest  appropriations  of  the  Board  for  Indian  missions  are 
made  for  the  work  within  the  two  states  of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico 
where  one-fifth  of  the  Indians  of  the  United  States  dwell  and  the  most 
primitive  and  pagan  conditions  are  found.  This  expenditure  of  faith- 
ful service  and  of  funds  is  believed  to  be  justified,  for  heathenism  and 
old  superstitions  are  manifestly  weakening  and  the  power  of  the  Gospel 
is  beginning  to  be  revealed.  Among  the  Navajos,  who  are  exceeded  in 
number  only  by  the  Sioux,  one  church  and  ten  mission  stations,  splend- 
idly located,  are  served  by  seven  ordained  ministers,  two  physicians 
and  eight  school  workers.  Dr.  J.  D.  Kennedy,  at  the  Ganado  Hospital, 
treats  over  1,200  cases  annually  and  is  constantly  gaining  in  prestige 
over  the  Indian  medicine  men.  The  first  converts  to  the  Christian 
faith  have  been  won  and  the  daydawn  has  appeared  in  this  land  of  the 
shepherd  people. 

An  important  change  and  advance  was  made  in  work  for  theNava- 
jos  when  the  independent  Mission  to  the  Navajo  and  Other  Indian 
Tribes,  after  sixteen  years  of  honorable  service,  was  transferred  to  the 
Presbyterian  Board  of  Home  Missions.  The  stations  transferred 
were  in  proximity’  to  Presbyterian  missions,  so  that  the  work  is  now 
unified.  Mr.  William  R.  Johnston,  Rev.  F.  G.  Mitchell  and  other 
workers  who  organized  and  fostered  the  work  of  the  independent 
Mission  to  the  Navajo  are  continuing  to  serve  at  Tolchaco,  Leupp  and 
Indian  Wells  Stations. 

A native  church  is  organized  among  the  Mohaves  at  Needles,  the 
work  at  Parker,  on  the  Colorado  River  Reservation,  is  prospering. 
The  mission  to  the  Lagunas  of  New  Mexico,  is,  under  God,  witnessing 
for  the  Truth  amid  conditions  of  superstition  and  semi-paganism. 


13 


The  Pima  services  are  attended  by  large  congregations  and  three- 
fifths  of  these  Indians  and  the  Maricopas  are  in  our  Presbyterian 
Church.  The  Papago  work,  centering  at  Tucson,  Arizona,  is 
equipped  with  two  new  chapels,  located  65  and  100  miles  south  of 
Tuscon,  so  that  the  long-neglected,  nomadic  Indians,  extending  to  the 
borders  of  Old  Mexico,  have  the  privileges  of  the  Gospel  and  pastoral 
care. 

Not  the  least  encouraging  sign  of  advance  among  these  Southwest- 
ern tribes,  as  w'ell  as  among  Indians  in  other  districts,  is  the  in- 
creasing frequency  with  which  they  call  upon  the  Christian  mission- 
ary to  perform  marriage  ceremonies  and  bury  their  dead. 

Division  V.  The  East. 

A gracious  revival  has  been  granted  the  churches  on  a portion  of  the 
Allegheny  Reservation  among  the  Iroquois.  The  Rev.  Morton  F. 
Trippe,  D.D.,  of  Salamanca,  N.  Y.,  has  completed  thirty  years  of  mis- 
sionary service,  and  the  seal  of  God’s  acceptance  of  his  labors  has 
again  been  manifested  in  a blessing  upon  special  services  recently 
held. 

Thirty  years  ago  the  highway  from  Salamanca  to  State  line  passed  through 
long  reaches  of  unallotted  land  in  all  its  native  wildness.  Today  there  is  scarcely 
any  land  unallotted.  Most  of  it  is  cleared  and  under  cultivation.  Attractive 
farm  buildings  now  occupy  what  was  thirty  years  ago  forests  or  land  cumbered 
with  stumps,  logs  and  brush. 

On  the  Cattarauqus  Reservation,  west  of  Buffalo,  the  work  has 
prospered  under  the  faithful  ministry  of  Rev.  J.  Emory  Fisher  and  his 
associates.  There  are  over  one  thousand  adherents  of  our  Presby- 
terian churches  among  the  Iroquois  on  three  reservations  of  w’estern 
New  York  State. 

In  Michigan  one  Presbyterian  congregation  is  organized  among  the 
Chippewa,  and  the  work  is  maintained  without  financial  aid  from  the 
Board. 


14 


Indian  Mission  Schools  and  Field  Matrons 


The  report  of  the  Superintendent  of  Schools  shows  that  the  Woman’s 
Board  maintains  eleven  Indian  schools  and  three  field  missionaries. 
Increased  attendence  and  higher  efficiency  and  greater  consecration 
among  the  workers  characterize  the  work.  Many  express  a desire  to 
live  the  Christian  life  and  are  under  training  that  they  may  intelligent- 
ly enter  upon  the  responsibilities  of  church  membership.  The  total 
enrollment  in  these  schools  of  465  pupils  should  be  greatly  increased, 
considering  the  fact  that  about  8,000  Indian  boys  and  girls  of  school 
age  are  wholly  unprovided  with  school  privileges. 

Summing  up  the  work  in  the  Indian  schools  the  present  demand 
without  exception  is  for  greater  accommodation  and  increased  equip- 
ment, to  make  more  effective  and  complete  the  training  of  the  Indians 
for  service  in  the  uplift  of  their  own  people.  Bible  instruction  and  the 
nurture  of  the  Christian  life  are  given  special  attention  in  all  of  the 
schools,  and  the  e.xample  and  stimulus  that  come  from  daily  associa- 
tion with  cultured  teachers  and  in  the  home  life  of  the  school  are  in- 
valuable. 

There  is  an  open  door  of  opportunity  among  Indians  ev'ery where  for 
field  matrons  who  will  go  into  the  homes  of  the  people  and  teach  the 
women  how  to  improve  their  conditions  of  living.  The  old  habits  of 
camp  life  need  to  be  transformed.  .Above  all  is  such  instruction  nec- 
essary for  mothers  in  telling  them  how  to  care  for  their  children. 
Infant  mortality  is  abnormally  high  among  our  Indians  and  lives  and 
souls  are  the  reward  of  the  worker  in  this  field. 

Bible  Training,  and  Indians  in  Preparation 

In  each  district  it  is  the  plan  to  provide  a systematic  course  of  in- 
struction for  the  training  of  Indian  ministers  and  lay  workers.  Cir- 
cumstances have  determined  the  diverse  arrangements  in  the  several 
districts. 


15 


In  Arizona  “The  Charles  H.  Cook  Bible  Training  School’’  has  been 
inaugurated.  A class  of  young  men,  with  representatives  of  three 
tribes  of  the  far  Southwest,  is  organized  in  the  buildings  at  the  Papago 
Mission  of  Tucson,  and  a permanent  institution  will  soon  be  located 
and  properly  equipped.  In  Oklahoma  the  Synod  has  established  Bible 
Institutes,  lasting  from  a week  to  three  weeks,  in  the  group  of  churches 
and  missions  of  each  tribe.  For  the  great  work  among  the  Dakotas  an 
adequate  provision  for  Bible  and  theological  instruction  is  greatly 
needed.  A proposal  of  the  American  Missionary  Association  for  the 
joint  control  of  the  Santee  Mission  School  by  the  two  Boards  is  under 
consideration.  The  notable  work  conducted  by  Miss  Kate  C.  McBeth 
and  her  associates  in  Idaho  continues  in  the  preparation  of  Nez  Perce 
evangelists  and  other  Christian  workers.  The  new  Indian  Training 
School,  under  the  direction  of  the  Northern  California  Indian  Associa- 
tion, at  Guinda,  Cal.,  will  provide  for  evangelical  instruction  for 
pupils  from  the  tribes  of  the  Pacific  Coast. 

Annual  Conventions 

Institutes  and  district  conventions  are  a valuable  feature  of  the 
work,  and  are  fostered  by  the  Indian  Department  of  the  Board.  Con- 
ferences are  held  by  the  workers  at  central  points  in  Oklahoma,  the 
Dakotas  and  the  Southwest.  Presbyterians  unite  in  the  annual  Zay- 
ante  Conference,  held  at  Mount  Hermon,  California,  by  the  Northern 
California  Indian  Association.  Yearly  reports  are  also  received  from 
the  Umatilla  Conference  in  Oregon,  the  Nez  Perce  encampment  in 
Idaho  and  the  Pima  camp  meeting  in  Arizona. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  each  year  a conference  of  mission- 
aries and  Presbyterian  workers  in  the  interests  of  the  Indian  fields  is  now  estab- 
lished as  a regular  appointment.  For  several  years  there  has  also  been  held  at 
the  Home  Mission  Board  rooms  a general  conference  of  the  officers  of  Christian 
Indian  organizations  and  friends  of  the  cause  who  can  conveniently  meet  together 
in  New  York  City.  There  is  prospect  of  this  becoming  a united  movement  of 
influence  and  broad  scope,  embracing  the  general  Christian  agencies  at  work  for 
the  uplift  of  the  Indian  race. 


16 


Indian  Exhibits 


The  series  of  missionary  expositions  in  Boston,  Cincinnati,  Balti- 
more, Chicago  and  other  large  cities,  under  the  fostering  care  of  the 
Missionary  Education  Movement,  provide  an  opportunity  for  service 
on  the  part  of  the  various  denominational  Boards  in  caring  for  partic- 
ular sections.  The  Board  has  provided  for  each  of  these  expositions 
an  extensive  exhibit  in  the  care  of  a representative  of  the  Department. 
In  this  way  the  needs  and  capabilities  of  the  Indians  are  brought  to  the 
attention  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  visitors.  The  Department  also 
furnishes  a considerable  amount  of  exhibition  material  and  distributes 
large  quantities  of  literature  concerning  Indian  missionary  activities. 

Interdenominational  Committee 

The  Home  Missions  Council,  including  thirty-one  national  Boards, 
has  a standing  Indian  Committee.  This  committee  has  vigorously 
prosecuted  efforts  in  New  York,  by  interdenominational  conferences, 
and  in  Washington,  by  hearings  before  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior 
and  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  to  secure  just  recognition 
by  the  Government  of  the  large  work  and  influential  cooperation  of 
the  mission  forces  laboring  for  the  uplift  of  the  Indians  of  the  whole 
country. 

The  country-wide  agitation  over  religious  garb  and  sectarian 
insignia  in  Government  Indian  Schools  offered  a special  opportunity 
for  service  on  the  part  of  the  Indian  Committee  of  the  Home  Missions 
Council.  United  Protestantism  was  enabled  in  this  instance  to 
present  a solid  front.  Although  the  President  of  the  United  States 
revoked  the  action  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  as  to  the 
wearing  of  sectarian  garb  and  insignia  in  Government  schools,  the 
usage  was  prohibited  for  the  future  schools  or  employees  taken  into 
the  classified  government  servdce.  A real  victory  was  attained  in 
getting  before  the  Protestant  people  of  the  United  States  the  facts 


17 


regarding  the  un-American  and  objectionable  character  of  the  so- 
called  “covering  in”  to  the  Government  service  of  sectarian  schools, 
the  wearing  of  religious  garb  by  teachers  and  the  displaying  of  sec- 
tarian insignia  in  schools  supported  by  Congressional  appropria- 
tions, and  the  forbidding  of  the  extension  of  these  practices. 


A notable  accomplishment  of  the  committee  is  an  agreement  of  comity  among 
fourteen  denominations  engaged  in  mission  work  for  the  Indians.  United  action 
is  agreed  upon,  with  practical  cooperation  in  the  division  of  mission  fields,  open- 
ing of  new  stations,  tabulating  of  unevangelized  tribes  and  neglected  fields  and 
the  sharing  in  conventions  and  other  denominational  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  Indians. 


In  1910  statistics  were  collated  by  the  Indian  Committee  of  the 
Home  Missions  Council  showing  the  combined  work  of  eighteen 
Evangelical  Protestant  Boards  and  Societies  carrying  on  missionary 
work  among  the  Indians  of  the  United  States.  Incomplete  reports 
showed  the  following  totals: 

States  in  which  Missions  are  Established 

Organized  Churches 

Additional  Stations  where  Services  are  Held 

Ordained  Ministers White 164 

Native 211 

Unordained  Helpers,  Interpreters  and  Other — 

Employees White 105 

Native 190 295 


19 

397 

318 

375 


Communicant  Christians,  Native  and  MUed 26,532 

Total  Estimated  Adherents 

(Including  Communicants  as  Given  Above) 60,347 

Indian  Sunday  Schools 342 

Sunday  School  Enrollment 16,083 


Mission  schools  among  the  Indians,  so  far  as  reported  in  1910,  number  34.  In 
these  are  employed  150  teachers  and  helpers,  with  1,829  pupils  enrolled.  Only 


18 


the  elementary  English  branches  are  taught  and  a few  industries,  such  as  agri- 
culture, stock  raising,  carpentry  and  domestic  service.  To  these  the  Govern- 
ment schools  add  weaving,  shoe  and  harness  making,  wood  carving,  broom  manu- 
facture, dairying  and  bee  culture.  In  industrial  lines  of  education  a sphere  of 
great  opportunity  for  the  uplift  of  the  Indian  is  found.  The  effort  of  the  Prot- 
estant Boards  in  this  respect  is  limited,  but  is  successful  where  undertaken  with 
adequate  appropriations  for  its  maintenance. 


Government  Schools  and  a Great  Opportunity 

An  open  door  of  opportunity  to  reach  twenty-five  thousand  Indian 
youth  and  children  in  schools  has  been  afforded  by  the  new  “Regu- 
lations for  Religious  Worship  and  Instruction  of  Pupils  in  Govern- 
ment Indian  Schools.  ’’  Public  services  and  the  conducting  of  Sabbath 
Schools  are  provided  for  and  two  hours  on  week  days  are  allowed 
for  religious  instruction  of  the  pupils  of  each  denomination.  Where 
the  local  pastors  and  Christian  workers  have  been  active  and  faithful 
in  maintaining  this  work  large  results  have  been  attained. 

At  Phoenix,  Ariz.,  there  are  200  Indian  communicants  in  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  the  growth  of  the  work  has  led  to  the  appointment  of  a separate 
pastor  for  the  Indians  of  the  school  and  the  town. 

As  a result  of  a visit  of  Rev.  John  N.  Steele.  Presbyterian  evangelist  to  the 
Indians,  to  the  Chemawa  Government  School,  at  Salem,  Oregon,  some  seventy- 
five  Indian  pupils  were  received  into  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Salem  and  a 
similar  number  united  with  other  denominations. 

The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  National  Committees  have 
field  secretaries  for  Indian  work,  who  are  giving  especial  attention 
to  the  Government  schools,  while  local  secretaries  for  several  of  the 
larger  institutions  have  been  employed. 

The  work  of  our  Board  of  Home  Missions  among  the  Indians  has 
created  a deeper  interest  among  Government  employees  and  among 
other  denominations  than  ever  before,  thus  resulting  in  increased 
cooperation  and  generous  appreciation.  It  is  a time  of  encourage- 
ment and  of  larger  promise  in  the  evangelical  church  work  for  the 
Indians  throughout  the  United  States. 


19 


Neglected  Thousands 


Statistics  gathered  three  years  ago  showed  forty-one  tribes  or 
tribal  divisions  of  the  Indians  in  the  United  States  needing  Christian 
missionaries.  Over  50,000  souls  were  estimated  to  be  destitute  of  religious 
instruction  or  the  ordinances  of  the  Church.  This  neglect  has  been 
in  part  supplied  by  the  aroused  interest  in  various  denominations, 
which  set  to  work  to  enlarge  their  mission  work.  But  today  un- 
evangelized Indians  are  numbered  by  the  tens  of  thousands.  Where 
are  they  located?  Who  testify  to  this  extreme  neglect  and  need? 
Let  the  direct  reports  from  those  best  posted  make  reply: 


Of  the  neglected  scattered  bands  of  California  the  Secretary  of  the  Northern 
California  Indian  Association  stated  this  month:  ' ‘ In  our  State  there  at  least 
are  11.000  who  are  without  the  Gospel.  The  restraints  of  their  own  religion 
have  been  taken  from  many  of  them  by  their  contact  with  the  white  race.  What 
have  we  given  them  in  exchange?  These  Indians  are  scattered  up  and  down 
the  foothills  of  the  Sierras,  and  many  have  not  one  foot  of  land  they  can  call  their 
own.  ” 

Of  the  superstitious  pueblo  dwellers  of  New  Mexico,  many  of  whom  have 
scarcely  a form  of  Christianity  superimposed  upon  the  old  paganism,  a resident 
near  Albuquerque  writes:  "We  renew  our  petition  for  new  missionaries  for  the 
Indians.  We  are  grieved  and  distressed  to  see  these  poor  people  pass  oar  door 
daily,  and  know  that  they  have  not  the  Gospel." 

Of  the  great  tribe  of  Oklahoma,  which  produced  a Sequoia,  the  genius  who 
invented  a native  alphabet,  and  the  great  Chief  John  Ross,  the  report  is  received: 
“We  have  6,000  full-blood  Cherokees  in  our  bounds.  They  live  in  retired 
places  in  the  hills,  and  the  villages  away  from  the  white  man  and  the  railroad. 
We  want  men  like  the  circuit  riders  and  colporteurs  to  minister  to  these  peopie. " 

The  second  largest  tribe  of  Indians  in  the  United  States  is  the  Navajo  of  Arizona 
and  New  Me.xico.  Of  more  than  25,000  souls  in  this  tribe,  not  one  in  one  hundred 
has  accepted  the  Christian  faith  today.  A missionary  from  the  reservation  re- 
ports: "We  have  over  6,000  children  of  school  age,  without  teachers,  either  of  the 
Government  or  the  Church.”  Here  Indians,  when  they  hear  the  message  from 
the  traveling  missionary,  look  up  with  a strange  surprise  and  say:  "We  never 
heard  that  story  before. " 


20 


INDIAN  DEPARTMENT  EXHIBIT,  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY,  LOUISVILLE,  19U 


A CHALLENGE  TO  MISSIONARY  ADVANCE 

The  Lonely  Grave  of  Rev.  A.  H.  Donaldson.  Early  Presbyterian  Missionary 
Among  the  Navajos,  Fort  Defiance,  Arizona 


Present  Needs 


The  supplying  of  these  neglected  Indians  with  the  opportunity 
to  hear  and  accept  the  gospel  of  Christ  is  the  most  insistent  need 
at  this  time.  The  strengthening  of  the  evangelical  forces  now  at  work 
and  the  enlarging  of  the  educational  provisions  made  by  the  Woman's 
Board  and  other  missionary  agencies  is  urgently  called  for. 

The  service  of  the  isolated  and  trying  Indian  fields  requires  grit 
and  grace.  Men  of  faith  and  fidelity  are  they  who  labor  in  them. 
A grateful  Church  is  appreciating  anew  today  their  sacrifice  and 
devotion.  As  they  bear  the  brunt  of  the  battle  against  heathenism 
and  superstition  and  patiently  toil  for  the  winning  of  souls,  twice 
heroes  are  they,  for 


"He  is  a hero  who  will  stand  for  right 
Against  a crowd,  afraid  the  wrong  to  face; 

He  also  who  will  stand  just  out  of  sight 
And  do  his  duty  in  a lonely  place. " 

The  whole  undertaking  needs  to  be  placed  upon  a statesman- 
like basis.  The  Indians  are  principally  on  reservations.  Later 
they  will  be  scattered.  The  door  of  opportunity  is  open  now. 

A Program  of  Action 

To  speedily  evangelize  the  50,000  Indians  of  our  Christian  land 
who  have  no  missionaries  or  churches. 

To  enlarge  the  number  and  capacity  of  Christian  schools  where 
the  Bible  is  taught  daily  and  the  atmosphere  of  the  school  is  that 
of  the  Christian  home. 

To  establish  an  industrial  and  institutional  work  for  the  neediest 
tribes,  and  to  employ  Christian  lay  workers,  field  missionaries  and 
housekeepers  to  improve  the  material  conditions  and  the  home  life 
of  the  Indians. 


23 


To  encourage  the  Indians  everywhere  in  America  to  adjust  them- 
selves to  the  new  conditions  and  strange  relations  into  which  they 
have  been  forced,  and  to  help  them,  under  God,  to  work  out  their 
own  salvation  and  destiny  in  American  life. 

For  MISSIONARY  MEETINGS  try  selected  paragraphs  from 
pages  6,  7,  13,  16,  17,  18,  19  and  HO. 

For  STATISTICAL  STATEMENT  regarding  Indian  missions, 
cull  out  the  figures  on  pages  6,  8,  15,  18  and  20. 


ADDITIONAL  COPIES  of  this  leaflet  may  be  had  in  quanti- 
ties by  addressing: 

The  Literature  Department,  The  Board  of  Home  Missions 
OF  THE  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S.  A.,  156  Fifth  Avenue, 
New  York  City. 

CORRESPONDENCE  concerning  the  Indian  Departmental 
Work  should  be  sent  to  The  Department  of  Indian  Missions, 
Rev.  Thomas  C.  Moffett,  D.D.,  Superintendent,  156  Fifth  Avenue, 
New  York  City. 

CORRESPONDENCE  concerning  mission  schools  and  field 
matron  service  should  be  sent  to  Prof.  M.  C.  Allaben,  Care 
Woman’s  Board  of  Home  Missions,  156  Fifth  Avenue,  New 


York  City 


